I was always raised to believe that God created the world. When I begin to think about life and the world and the galaxy in general, my head begins to hurt. Is this a dream? What is reality? How big is the universe? It’s scary to think that we might be the only source of life in the entire world. If god did create the world, there has to be other sources of life, right? Sometimes I think that we were placed on this earth as a test and “God” is watching to see how we change, destroy, and better planet earth. We are a test and he is watching in order to see what to do better next time.
Why is there suffering/evil?
There will never not be evil in the world. The world will never have peace. As much as we try, there will always be someone against someone because that’s just how it works. The world is not a perfect place. We have wars, famine, disease, poison, pollution, and poverty. Yet, without evil we wouldn’t be able to appreciate delight.
What happens after we die?
I believe there are three things that can occur after we die. My first belief is that life starts over. As each person dies, they join each other and life begins again. Secondly is heaven and hell. I was raised to believe this also. I think heaven could be real. A good person with a good soul will go to heaven and a bad, evil people will go to hell. I’m not sure if it will actually happen, but it could. Lastly, I believe nothing may happen. Perhaps when you die, you just have darkness, just pure nothing.
How should we live?
I think we should live to the best of our abilities. There will be people who will bring us down, there will be heartbreak and evil and sadness. Yet, there will also be love and kindness and there will be adoration and pleasant people. Being sad will take you nowhere, BE HAPPY. I would say to be nice to everyone, but I know that is pretty hard considering everyone is different.
Journal #2
Here is how my conversation with a guru would go:
Me: May i ask you a few questions?
Guru: Of course what would you like to know?
Me: How does one achieve moksha?
Guru: Moksha, or liberation, is achieved by living a good life. Follow your dharma and you will see the results from liberation.
Me: What happens when we die?
Guru: When one dies, your jiva dies while your atman leaves. Reincarnation can go one of two ways. Based on your karma, you can either be reincarnated higher in the caste or be reincarnated lower.
Me: Is Brahman the ultimate source of power?
Guru: Everyone has an atman, or soul. Brahman is a god, but he lives inside of you.
Me: Thank you Guru.
Journal #3
On Friday i took 5 minutes to attempt to clear out my mind. Although i had a lot of thoughts running around in my head, I sat down and breathed. I dont remember what i thought about, i dont even recall thinking of anything at all. On Saturday, I went over to Adair's house in downtown. While sitting in Curtis Hixon park we began to think. We didn't exactly sit in silence and breathe for 5 minutes, but we talked about life. We were people watching and i began to think about how different everybody is. Everyone has their own lifestyle, way of dressing, way of talking. It was really cool to think about that. On Sunday i sat down in my bed and just breathed. I began thinking about my life right now. Am i making the right decisions? What if i did something differently? All of it spirals down to one thought that wont escape my mind. I think being mindful gives you the opportunity to really sit down and think about life for a few minutes. Think about everything that is going on and really analyze it. It was kind of easy for me because i think a lot in my free time whether or not I am making the right choices. Of course there was a lot of repetitive thought and i need to get those thoughts out of my mind and start thinking about what is ahead.
Journal #4
I don't think i would change any of the commandments. I believe that God gave Moses those exact 10 for a reason. I wouldn't rearrange or change anything about them. If God wanted Moses to have those 10, then so be.
Where did the world come from?
I was always raised to believe that God created the world. When I begin to think about life and the world and the galaxy in general, my head begins
Why is there suffering/evil?
There will never not be evil in the world. The world will never have peace. As much as we try, there will always be someone against someone because that’s just how it works. The world is not a perfect place. We have wars, famine, disease, poison, pollution, and poverty. Yet, without evil we wouldn’t be able to appreciate delight.
What happens after we die?
I believe there are three things that can occur after we die. My first belief is that life starts over. As each person dies, they join
How should we live?
I think we should live to the best of our abilities. There will be people who will bring us down, there will be heartbreak and evil and sadness. Yet, there will also be love and kindness and there will be adoration and pleasant people. Being sad will take you nowhere, BE HAPPY. I would say to be nice to everyone, but I know that is pretty hard considering everyone is different.
Journal #2
Here is how my conversation with a guru would go:
Me: May i ask you a few questions?
Guru: Of course what would you like to know?
Me: How does one achieve moksha?
Guru: Moksha, or liberation, is achieved by living a good life. Follow your dharma and you will see the results from liberation.
Me: What happens when we die?
Guru: When one dies, your jiva dies while your atman leaves. Reincarnation can go one of two ways. Based on your karma, you can either be reincarnated higher in the caste or be reincarnated lower.
Me: Is Brahman the ultimate source of power?
Guru: Everyone has an atman, or soul. Brahman is a god, but he lives inside of you.
Me: Thank you Guru.
Journal #3
On Friday i took 5 minutes to attempt to clear out my mind. Although i had a lot of thoughts running around in my head, I sat down and breathed. I dont remember what i thought about, i dont even recall thinking of anything at all. On Saturday, I went over to Adair's house in downtown. While sitting in Curtis Hixon park we began to think. We didn't exactly sit in silence and breathe for 5 minutes, but we talked about life. We were people watching and i began to think about how different everybody is. Everyone has their own lifestyle, way of dressing, way of talking. It was really cool to think about that. On Sunday i sat down in my bed and just breathed. I began thinking about my life right now. Am i making the right decisions? What if i did something differently? All of it spirals down to one thought that wont escape my mind. I think being mindful gives you the opportunity to really sit down and think about life for a few minutes. Think about everything that is going on and really analyze it. It was kind of easy for me because i think a lot in my free time whether or not I am making the right choices. Of course there was a lot of repetitive thought and i need to get those thoughts out of my mind and start thinking about what is ahead.
Journal #4
I don't think i would change any of the commandments. I believe that God gave Moses those exact 10 for a reason. I wouldn't rearrange or change anything about them. If God wanted Moses to have those 10, then so be.